1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to basketball goal assemblies. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for anchoring a portable basketball goal assembly with respect to a playing surface.
2. The Relevant Technology
Basketball is an increasingly popular sport in the United States and abroad. There are many cities, counties and other associations that sponsor recreational and instruction leagues where people of all ages can participate in the sport of basketball. Today there are organized leagues for children as young as five and six years old. Accordingly, is not surprising that more and more people have a basketball goal assembly mounted on their own property.
Known freestanding basketball goal assemblies for home use typically have a standardized backboard and rim attached to a support pole. The pole is typically affixed to some type of base with a comparatively large footprint to provide stability to the basketball goal assembly. The base may extend rearward from the pole.
The rim of the basketball goal assembly is typically disposed about ten feet above the playing surface, and a few feet forward of the front of the base. The xe2x80x9cmoment,xe2x80x9d or force tending to turn an object around an axis, is generally equal to the magnitude of the force multiplied by the length of the moment arm. Because the moment arms involved in use of a basketball assembly are so long, game play exerts a large moment on the basketball goal assembly that must be counteracted by the weight of the base. For example, a person hanging on the rim, as when performing a dunking maneuver, produces a moment equivalent to their weight multiplied by the horizontal offset between the rim and the front edge of the base. Similarly, when a ball bounces horizontally off of the backboard, the resulting moment is generally the impact force of the ball against the backboard multiplied by the vertical offset of the backboard from the base.
In response to these large moments, heavier and larger bases have been created in an effort to keep the goal steady. Often, these bases are heavily weighted and require a considerable amount of space, thereby cutting into the paved area that can be used for play. Despite their weight and size, known base arrangements are often insufficient to keep the basketball goal assembly steady during play. Even an inch of motion of the backboard can make game play somewhat unpredictable.
Some known systems also provide a tethering arrangement configured to keep the base in place. These tethering arrangements typically provide some type of flexible attachment, such as a chain or rope, to tether the base to the playing surface. Although such arrangements can keep the base from sliding significantly in a horizontal direction, they typically cannot be tensioned greatly enough by a user to prevent vertical motion in the base. Thus, such tethering arrangements are typically insufficient for steadying the goal assembly during play.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for steadying the base of a basketball goal assembly. Preferably, the system and method should provide some type of rigid attachment to the playing surface so that the goal assembly is unable to move during play. The system and method should preferably not produce large stresses in the base, so that lightweight, inexpensive, and comparatively low-strength materials can be used to form the base. The system and method is preferably operable by a user with a minimum of hand tools and effort. Additionally, the system as a whole is preferably inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
The apparatus of the present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available basketball goal assemblies. Thus, it is an overall objective of the present invention to provide a basketball goal assembly that can easily be anchored to a playing surface.
To achieve the foregoing objects, and in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein in the preferred embodiment, a novel anchoring assembly for a basketball goal assembly is provided. The anchoring assembly may comprise an anchoring attachment, which may take the form of a threaded fastener. Preferably, the anchoring attachment has a head configured to be gripped and turned by a user without the aid of hand tools. The anchoring attachment may be twisted into place within an anchor positioned within an anchoring hole formed in the playing surface, underneath the base.
The anchor may comprise a metallic tube configured to expand when the anchoring attachment is inserted so that the anchor engages the sides of the anchoring hole. The anchor may have a threaded inside diameter, configured to receive the anchoring attachment in threaded engagement. The anchor may also simply be made of a softer material than that of the anchoring fastener so that insertion of the anchoring attachment into the anchor deforms the inside diameter of the anchor to form threads therein. The anchor may have ridges or other features disposed about its outside diameter to engage the walls of the anchoring hole when the anchor expands due to the outward pressure of the anchoring attachment.
The anchoring attachment is preferably threaded through a hole formed in a mounting region of the base. A support strut may advantageously be affixed to the same mounting region and to the support pole to keep the support pole vertical. Thus, moment forces acting on the backboard and rim are transmitted through the pole and into the base via the support struts. Positioning the anchoring attachment near the attachment of the support strut ensures that the moment arm of those forces with respect to the anchoring assembly is small. This reduces the likelihood of bending in the anchoring attachment or the base material through which the anchoring attachment is threaded.
In certain embodiments, two or more such anchoring assemblies may be used. For example, a basketball goal assembly may have two support struts, symmetrically positioned to support the support pole. One anchoring assembly may be positioned near the attachment of each support strut to the base.
If desired, such an anchoring assembly may also have a resilient member, such as a spring, positioned to urge the anchoring attachment upward, away from the anchor. For example, a linear spring may be positioned between the base and the head of the anchoring attachment so that the linear spring is compressed when the anchoring attachment is engaged within the anchor. Then, when the anchoring attachment is unscrewed, the force of the spring keeps it upward, away from the anchoring hole. Thus, the base may be moved horizontally, for example, to store the basketball goal assembly for the winter, without dragging the anchoring attachment against the playing surface.
Additionally, a plug may be provided to cover the anchoring hole while the basketball goal assembly is not anchored. The plug may keep moisture and debris out of the hole to prevent obstruction or damage from ice expansion. Such a plug may be constructed of a plastic material, and may have a head and a threaded portion so that a user can grasp the head and twist the plug into place within the anchoring hole. Thus, the portable basketball goal assembly may be rigidly anchored into place for game play, and moved or stored as desired by disengaging the anchoring assemblies.
According to some alternative embodiments, anchoring assemblies may be configured to permit significant variation in the angle and offset displacement of the anchoring holes. For example, according to one alternative embodiment, each anchoring attachment may be inserted through a bracket disposed within a top indentation of the base. The bracket may have rounded edges that abut a rounded surface of the top indentation so that the bracket is able to pivot about an axis parallel to the lateral direction. The bracket may also have a rounded shoulder with a slot through which the anchoring attachment extends to permit pivotal motion of the anchoring attachment with respect to the bracket, about an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction. A head of the anchoring attachment may be disposed above the shoulder, and may be rotatable by hand to threadably engage the anchoring attachment into the corresponding anchor.
Each of the anchoring attachments may pass through a hole in the base to reach the anchoring holes. The holes in the base may be somewhat oversized to permit the anchoring attachments to be disposed at angles that are not perpendicular to the playing surface. Hence, the anchoring holes need not be precisely vertical or exactly offset from each other to receive the anchoring attachments. The base may be anchored by simply disposing the base over the anchoring holes, positioning the anchoring attachments in alignment with the anchoring holes, and rotating the heads to anchor the anchoring attachments within the anchors in the anchoring holes.
According to another alternative embodiment, the base may have a top indentation with a flat portion. A bracket may be affixed to the flat portion in such a manner that the bracket does not move with respect to the base. The anchoring attachment may pass through the bracket and through an oversized hole in the base. Again, a manually rotatable head may be disposed above the bracket. However, the anchoring attachment may have a threaded portion that engages interior threads of the head so that rotation of the head does not necessarily rotate the anchoring attachment, but instead causes generally vertical motion of the anchoring attachment as the threaded portion is received into or expelled from the head.
Additionally, the anchoring attachment may not be a straight bolt, but may rather have a hooked shape with a curved portion at the lower end. The curved portion may engage an eyelet threaded into the anchor. Thus, the anchoring attachment may be moved into an anchored position by rotating the head to lower the anchoring attachment, inserting the curved portion into the eyelet, and then rotating the head in the opposite direction to raise the anchoring attachment until the anchoring attachment pulls firmly against the eyelet.
Support struts of the portable basketball goal assembly may be attached directly to the brackets, thereby providing a force transmittal assembly in which each component is constructed of a high strength material such as a metal. Hence, the portable basketball goal assembly may be resilient under comparatively more rigorous play.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.